


From There to Here

by deecherrywolf



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: 2nd Year AU, Falling In Love, Friendship/Love, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-10
Updated: 2015-10-09
Packaged: 2018-04-20 02:24:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,025
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4769999
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/deecherrywolf/pseuds/deecherrywolf
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>the perfect combination is your heart and mine.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Happy KageHina Day! 
> 
> Once again, I'm taking an artsy route with my summaries again if the tags can speak for the fic itself haha (plus I'm inspired by one of my favorite authors who does it like that, erm she doesn't write HQ and her writings are rather... explicit?). 
> 
> There will be 2 chapters to this and the 2nd chapter will be posted on.... you guessed it HinaKage Day!

It was a relatively cold spring day – the day they went back to school. Hinata Shoyo was dressed warmly, pedaling his bike leisurely albeit tiredly as he headed toward Karasuno High. His warm coat was over his volleyball jacket, which he wore with pride. As a 2nd year, he felt the impulse and drive to be proud. It was going to be a somber beginning as they lost core members in what made their team so strong in his first year. But he wouldn't let that get him down nor would he allow it to slow the team down. He was ready to become an even stronger Karasuno!

He pedaled a little harder now, sleep drifting off as it was replaced with soaring energy. He cried out, sharply, inhaling the crisp air as he made a sharp turn, spotting his school not far. A few students plodded towards the school, most of them looking as if they'd rather still be in bed. Not Hinata though, his tiredness was gone the moment he parked his bike and chained it up. He quickly spotted a familiar head – his eyes narrowing in as he began to run.

It didn't take long for his nemesis to spot him too and the race was on.

The two of them zipped by a stray student here and there as they raced towards the gym, eyes frantic as one of them had to be the first winner of the new school year.

They both landed with heavy feet at the same moment.

“I beat you!”

“No you didn't,” hissed Kageyama. “See! I'm closer.”

“That's not fair! Your feet are bigger than mine! That doesn't count!”

“It does and I won, as usual.”

Hinata rolled his eyes and stuck his tongue out at Kageyama, who fished out a key from his coat pocket. Hinata's eyes glowed at it and he nabbed it from him.

“Hey!”

“Where did you get a key to the gym? And why do you have one and I don't!?”

Kageyama scowled, snatching the key back before scoffing. “Ennoshita-senpai intrusted it to me. He gave one to me, Tanaka-senpai, and Tsukishima.”

“Geh! Tsukishima has one too!? That's not fair... I want one!”

Kageyama rolled his eyes as he unlocked the door. “You'd just end up losing it, stupid. Besides, I have one, you don't need one.”

Hinata blinked, a strange sensation in his gut sparked but he scowled. “That makes no sense!”

The two of them walked in, ready for the first practice of the new year.

Hinata had never really thought much of being a second year. He'd been one once in Junior High and it never really changed anything so being a second year in high school wouldn't change much either. He'd still hang with his friends and then go play volleyball. It would all be the same.

At least, that's what he thought until he saw the roster. 

He noticed none of his usual friends were in his class – 2-3. He found Tsukishima's name under class 2-1, as well as Yachi and Yamaguchi. But as for Hinata, he didn't spot any of his friends names on his class list. But he did spot one name that stood out like an eyesore – as if it were suddenly highlighted.

Kageyama Tobio.

He grimaced. 

Not only did he have to spend his time playing volleyball with Kageyama, now they'd be in the same class. It was a little more than upsetting. He'd be seeing enough of Kageyama while on the court, having to deal with him in class as well was an annoyance. The possibility of him having to sit by him or even being paired up for assignments was enough to churn his stomach, making him want to retch already – and they weren't even about to start a game!

He heaved a sigh and headed for his shoe locker, stepping up the steps and depositing his sneakers and exchanging them for his loafers. His mind flickered as he burned more and more with the thought of his bad luck. He would know no one besides Kageyama in his new class. He looked up, eyes brimming with determination. He would make new friends! He wouldn't let Kageyama ruin this for him. He may have to deal with Kageyama in volleyball and play get along, but he wasn't about to let Kageyama disrupt his life all together.

He quickened his pace to find his homeroom, opening the door quickly. A few eyes turned toward him, but nothing more than a quick glance before they turned to talk to one and other. Hinata swallowed heavy around a nervous lump in his throat as he walked in, finding the assigned seat that belonged to him. He glanced over to see if anyone was seated around him yet. This one guy with thick glasses sat beside the desk he was assigned and pretty girl on the other side. But the desk in front of and behind of his were empty at the moment. He walked over, hanging his bag on the hook on his desk and sat down, glancing over to his left at the guy with the glasses. His fingers were moving quickly against his smartphone and he was ignoring Hinata's intense stare so Hinata shifted his attention to the girl.

She was pretty and suddenly Hinata felt too shy so he looked away, slightly happy he was seated next to a cute girl. The door slid open more and more often now, students making their way in – greeting one and other until finally the inevitable happened. Hinata tensed as Kageyama walked in, checking his seating chart as well. His eyes surveyed the room and caught on Hinata's frame. Hinata could see Kageyama tense up just as much as he felt it. But they broke out of their tense stare as Kageyama walked over to his assigned seat – rows away from Hinata.

Hinata breathed a sigh of relief.

“What gives? I thought you and he were friends?”

Hinata blinked and looked back at the person who was now in the seat behind him. Curious dark hazel eyes peered at him through a right parted fringe. Hinata felt his face sour at the implication. 

“Kageyama is Kageyama.... he is not my friend, more like my rival!”

The guy's brows raised. “But you're on the same team...”

Geh. “Who are you?”

“Watanashi Haruto. Nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you.”

“I play sports too, you know. That's how I know about you! I'm on the basketball club.”

Hinata nodded, not really caring too much. Basketball was basketball. It had nothing to do with volleyball. This guy though, Haruto, continued.

“I've seen you jump, I think your strength would be better at basketball.”

Hinata blinked, this guy was trying to recruit him while they sat in class? Feeling a bit agitated now, he scoffed. “I'm with the volleyball club, sorry. I have no interest in basketball.”

“You should at least try it! C'mon, it doesn't even have to be for the club – we could shoot some hoops during lunch time.”

Hinata turned back around, his mind pulsing. One one hand, he did want to make new friends in his class and what better way to do it than entertaining the person in the seat behind him? But on the other... Volleyball and Basketball weren't the same thing and he loved volleyball and really disliked basketball... he sighed.

“Okay.”

“Awesome! Don't worry we'll just play a little one on one. It will be fun!”

The feel of Watanashi's hand clapping on his shoulder felt heavy and he couldn't help but shift his gaze to where Kageyama was, feeling a strange sensation of Kageyama looking away just as he looked over. His heart thumped in his chest oddly, causing him to look down in curiosity. What was that? He didn't have time to think about it as their homeroom teacher came and the day began.

Once lunch break began, Hinata felt something rub against the back of his neck, he shuddered and looked back to find intense hazel eyes looking at him. “Ready for that one on one?”

Hinata rubbed his neck, puckering his mouth up in a pout. He was about to tell him 'yeah, okay' when a looming presence appeared over them. He blinked and looked up to find Kageyama staring down at them. There was a weird look on Kageayama's face that Hinata couldn't pinpoint. It looked like a cross between a nervous game face and the need to poop face, but he wasn't sure.

“Hinata.”

“Y-Yea?”

He hated that he stuttered, but he swallowed the mortification as Kageyama's arm suddenly raised and he jutted his thumb over his shoulder. “Want to go practice in the gym?”

Oh that's right, Kageyama had a key... Hinata's eyes widened and a pleased smile grew on his lips.

“Yeah!”

Watanashi frowned. “But you promised to play some one on one with me.”

“Can't we do that after school?”

“But we both have club after school... you can practice volleyball at your club, right?”

Hinata paused, he was right... and it was strange of Kageyama to want to spend his free time with Hinata – even if that purpose was volleyball. Hinata chewed the inside of his mouth before looking at Kageyama with a sympathetic look. “I already promised Watanashi, I'm sorry.”

He really wanted to play volleyball though... really REALLY.

Kageyama made no sound, he just stared down at Hinata. Hinata met his stare and suddenly felt even more guilty. He could tell by the awkward look on Kageyama's face that it had taken courage to come over here and ask him to go play with him. They were teammates, sure, but friends? No. They had never hung out together besides for volleyball and never during lunch break. And despite Hinata wanting to make friends, he really would rather play volleyball with his rival.

“On second thought, I'd rather play volleyball. I'm sorry Watanashi! I really promise you next time, ok?”

Watanashi shrugged, a smile on his lips. “It can't be helped, but I'm holding you to that! You better be ready for our one on one tomorrow.”

Hinata grinned before following Kageyama out the door. The two of them hurried to the gym and as Kageyama was unlocking it he scowled down at Hinata. “What was that about?”

“Oh, um... he's with the basketball club, I promised him I'd play with him.”

“Basketball?” the foreign word spat out of Kageyama's mouth as if it were venom. “Why would you even want to play basketball?”

“I don't! Not really, I just...”

He just wanted to make friends in his class... and if Watanashi would be that friend, he could deal with playing some basketball with him to grasp the olive branch of friendship. Kageyama shook his head.

“You should focus on volleyball. We're going to be getting some first years at practice after school and we want to make a good impression.”

“Of course! I know that, stupid!”

“I'm just checking!” growled Kageyama, who picked up a volleyball from the holder, running his hands over it. “I just don't want you, a 2nd year player, coming off as wish-washy to new players.”

“I won't! Jeez Kageyama, you are worrying too much over this. C'mon! Toss to me!”

“Duh.” snorted Kageyama, the two of them getting into position. And as they passed the time playing, Hinata suddenly felt that spending his lunch hour with Kageyama wasn't so bad, especially if what they did was play volleyball. They both almost forgot to take a break to eat. Almost.

\- - -

When practice rolled around, it was almost somber. The fact that three core members were now gone made most the team quite silent as they gathered in. Instead of seeing Daichi's stern face, they were greeted by Ennoshita's tired visage. But the moment they all gathered that tiredness cleared to reveal determination. “All right, as you know, some amazing teammates graduated last year, but that doesn't mean that Karasuno can't be amazing anymore. We have amazing people still here and more amazing people will join.”

Hinata noticed some first years getting pumped. It hurt his pride a bit to see them all be taller than himself, but that was okay. He'd grown a couple of centimeters during break! He watched the first years introduce themselves and hand their applications to Yachi, who took them with trembling hands. This was Yachi's first year as their official manager – now that Shimizu had graduated as well. They were all nervous.

But oddly enough, all nervousness seemed to evaporate from Hinata when Kageyama was by his side. He glared over at his rival-teammate and now classmate. Kageyama noticed the glare and returned it, making Hinata bristle up. He stomped away, getting ready for practice. They mostly did basic exercises today, and went over the basics and asked each first year their experience. Most of them came from schools Hinata had never heard of. But that was okay, because it seemed a few other teammates recognized the schools as 'strong schools'

Hinata smiled in excitement. This year could be a good year for them again!

“What are you smiling about, dumbass?”

He scowled at Kageyama who scowled back.

Until the doors opened.

Ukai walked in. “Sorry I'm late, I had a fuss at the shop but also had a surprise visitor. Line up!”

The team snapped into a firm line as Ukai walked in a smile on his face.

“Our team did well last year and I expect for us to do well again. More importantly, we'll do exceptionally well because I have a surprise for you all. We will have a supervisor coach – someone whose word will go above mine at all times.”

Hinata's eyes widened as the door opened again and a rather stern man walked in. He recognized that face... it was none other than the former Coach Ukai. The whole team stared in awe as the man walked in.

Coach Ukai grinned, his eyes glinting. “There is no expectation of us doing well, we will do well. And I'll see to it. We will show Japan just how high Karasuno can fly.”

Hinata shuddered, feeling the coach's eyes on him for a second longer than necessary, but the overall excitement flushed out his nervousness. Coach Ukai was right, they'd show Japan – no, the world, just high Karasuno could soar. 

\- - -

Hinata's muscles ached as he trudged out of the gym. The rumors were right... Coach Ukai was a spartan! He winced as he glanced at his bike, his muscles protesting the mere thought of riding home, but he had to do it. He groaned as he unlocked his bike, blinking as the setting sun was suddenly covered by a shadow of something.

Of someone.

He glanced up to see it was Kageyama. He scowled but suddenly his muscles clenched and he didn't feel like putting energy out in lashing at Kageyama. He stood up, pulling his bike from the bike rack and stared at Kageyama.

“Want to go get some meat buns?”

Hinata's agitation flared. “Gross. Why are you suddenly being nice to me?”

Kageyama growled. “What the hell! I can't offer to buy you food now?”

“No, that's not it.” Hinata raised a hand tiredly. “We've never hung out on our own before, why are you doing so now?”

Kageyama relaxed, his own muscles probably screaming from the pain. “Coach Ukai is right, we can show Japan how well we fly... and to do so, we should....”

Kageyama looked constipated for a moment and it was at that moment that Hinata realized all of this was Kageyama extending a real olive branch. Not just appeasing Daichi so they could play, but really and truly making an effort to be nice to Hinata, to maybe... become friends. Hinata wasn't sure if he wanted to take the olive branch... would the bark of it only end up cutting into his skin? Or perhaps it would bear fruit. He decided to reach out to grasp it.

“As long as you keep tossing to me, we'll win!”

Kageyama snorted, following Hinata as the smaller of the two pushed his bike. “You mean as long as I toss to you, we'll win.”

“Details! And I expect more than one meat bun, Kageyama. I'm starving.”

“Don't push it! And you'll spoil your dinner, stupid.”

“What are you? My mom?”

The two of them squabbled with no real malice as they walked side by side – the beginning of a real friendship beginning to bud between them. 

\- - -

Nothing magically changed now that they decided to become friends. It was a simple change, one that probably had been coming for a long time. But now that they were classmates, it helped. Hinata found himself glancing over at Kageyama during class more and more. It helped that he was situated right where it would look like he was glancing at the board when doing so. 

Hinata also found himself having lunch with Kageyama more and more – something he had never done before. The two of them, at first, had sat in the classroom to eat. But Hinata noticed Kageyama wasn't exactly friendly with Watanashi like he was. Actually, he noticed Kageyama wasn't friendly with any of their classmates.

He took a bite out of the rice from his bento and glanced at Kageyama. The two of them were sitting outside, close to the juice box dispenser – Kageyama sipping on his milk box.

“Hey, Kageyama.”

“Mm?”

“Why haven't you made any friends in class?”

Kageyama slurped a little loudly there, pulling his straw out of his mouth with a jerk. “They're just classmates.”

“What about me? I'm your classmate too.”

Kageyama's eyes narrowed. “You're different.”

Hinata felt a hammering in his chest, blinking slowly at that. He was different... it rang in his head and made his whole body feel as if it where made of cotton. He nibbled at his food, ignoring the sound of Kageyama finishing off what was left of his milk box. Hinata put his chopsticks down, watching Kageyama toss the milk box into the trashbin.

“That doesn't mean you shouldn't be friendly with them, Kageyama. Who knows, you might actually make friends.”

Kageyama snorted. “I don't need friends. I just need volleyball.”

Hinata watched Kageyama stretch, his mouth twisting. He did understand where Kageyama was coming from. He didn't really _need_ friends, more like he _wanted_ them. He liked having friends, especially ones outside of volleyball. Though his volleyball friends were best... He shook his head as confusion began to churn away at his brain. Kageyama noticed him shaking his head and raised his brows at him.

“What the heck are you doing?”

“Nothing!”

Kageyama rolled his eyes and packed up his bento, prompting Hinata to do the same. They walked back towards the classroom, side by side until they made it back and they split up from there. Hinata noticed a girl at Watanashi's desk, talking animatedly with him. He couldn't help but feel a little jealous. Watanashi looked the type to be smooth with the girls and attract them just as easily. He huffed as he sat down, putting his bento bag back into his schoolbag, watching the girl flit off before he felt a tap on his shoulder.

He turned to Watanashi who grinned at him.

“If you joined the basketball club, you'd get the ladies too...”

Hinata rolled his eyes. “No thanks!”

Watanashi laughed. “Yeah, I thought so... still! You should play with me some more, you weren't so bad the time we did a one on one.”

The vague memory of their one on one surfaced to Hinata's mind. It hadn't been bad, really – a little awkward when he had wanted to spike the ball a couple of times, but it wasn't that bad. Not like his grade school memories of the sport. But even so, it was nothing like volleyball. It didn't give him that thrill nor the feeling of flying through the air. He shuddered at the mere thought of the sensations.

“I'll think about it.”

“Okay, okay. I better stop teasing you about basketball, your boyfriend keeps glaring over here.”

Hinata's brows raised. “Boyfriend?” His eyes instinctively went to Kageyama, who got caught glaring. The taller boy turned in his seat quickly, which made Hinata's frown deepen. He looked back at Watanashi with a scowl. “Kageyama isn't my boyfriend. He's just worried that you're trying to steal me away from volleyball, which you are.”

“I'm not!” pouted Watanashi. “Okay, maybe a little – but I'm mostly joking.”

The teacher entered the room, clapping their hands to get the attention of the students to begin the lesson. Hinata, however, was suddenly hung up on Watanashi's words. ' _Boyfriend_ ' the mere word made Hinata feel sick, even more so at the thought of it being associated with Kageyama of all people. He ignored the weird twist in his gut and scrabbled on his notebook, taking notes as the word continued to bounce in his head.

It wasn't until after practice, when they were walking home, did the word come bombarding back in his mind. He felt himself stall as he pushed his bike, glancing at the looming presence of Kageyama beside him. He frowned at the thought of people thinking Kageyama was his... he shook his head and then walked a little faster when he noticed Kageyama was leaving him behind. 

“So, Kageyama... what kind of girls do you like?” 

Kageyama looked down at Hinata, a pinched look on his face. “Why do you care?” 

“I don't! It's just friend talk! Watanashi asks me all the time.” 

That pinched look grew even more sour at the mention of Watanashi, but Kageyama surprisingly answered after that. “I like cute girls, with nice legs.” 

“Ah. Me too!” 

Both of them fell silent. Hinata realized their answers were quite generic. ' _Cute girls with nice legs_?', all girls were pretty cute and nice legs wasn't really specific.... but when Hinata really thought about it, he didn't really have any specific girl in mind. Not even a fantasy one. His gaze remained lowered for the rest of the walk until he had to part with Kageyama. They wordlessly left each other, as they often did. Hinata got on his bike and pedaled the remaining way home, his legs aching tiredly but his mind too distracted to really care. 

After the talk about girls, things grew a little awkward between Hinata and Kageyama; Hinata wasn't too sure why and was confused by the sudden tenseness in not only himself but evident in Kageyama's features as well. The two of them always gravitated towards one and other when class broke for lunch and after school, but there as this stiffness that remained and Hinata wanted to fix it. Just when he thought they were finally being friends and that the olive branch had become a stunning olive tree, it looked as if the olives were beginning to dry up and leaves were falling off. 

He felt his shoulders stiffen up when Kageyama sat beside him. Their thighs touching, making Hinata horribly uncomfortable and aware of Kageyama's presence. He looked up at him, watching him poke the usual straw through the usual milk box, his bento lay unwrapped on his lap. He noticed Kageyama's throat work as he drank the milk and it made Hinata feel a weird sensation, one that he couldn't necessarily put his finger on. 

Kageyama lowered the milk box and dark eyes snapped over to Hinata, startling him. Hinata furrowed his brows and ignored the heat on his cheeks as he snarled. “What? You gotta problem?” 

_You want to fight?_

It was unspoken but it was in the air. Kageyama didn't look agitated nor did he looked amused. If anything he looked... nervous. Hinata turned away, opening his bento as he ignored the stares he was getting from Kageyama until, finally, Kageyama spoke. 

“I don't want to be friends anymore.” 

Hinata choked on his rice that he had just put in his mouth. His eyes, teary from choking already, felt hot as he looked at Kageyama in shock. His chest twinged with pain as all the olives fell off their sapling tree at once. He swallowed as Kageyama pat at his back – calling him stupid the whole way. 

“But why? What did I do?” 

He knew he sounded whiny, but he didn't care! Kageyama owed him an explanation... why was he doing this? 

Kageyama pursed his lips, his brow furrowing. “I think you're misunderstanding me... I...I'm interested in you.” 

Hinata was even more confused now. Why would Kageyama want to stop being friends because he was interested in him? If anything, that should prompt them to remain friends, right? To get to know more and more about the other. It was then Kageyama crunched his milk box in his hand – a little spurt of milk bursting out from the straw. 

“When I approached you about being friends, I was already interested in you. I've been interested in you since last year, but I could never say anything because... you didn't like me then.” 

“You didn't like me either, you butthole!” 

Kageyama flushed. “No! I did like you! I still do... _like_ you.” 

The emphasis on 'like' suddenly clicked into place in Hinata's mind and he swore he heard a ringing in his ears, drowning out everything around him. Kageyama... likes him? Why? What did he do to garner such attention? And more importantly, did that make Kageyama gay? He blinked back the shock and then he felt his cheeks warm and his heart beat increase. Would he... reciprocate? 

The mere thought of it had him jolting up, startling Kageyama. His bento fell off his lap, toppling over and spilling out on the floor. But he didn't care, because he was suddenly sprinting away. He didn't even see the hurt look on Kageyama's face because he was far too concerned with this heat growing on his skin and the sudden fluffy feeling in his heart – a weird feeling that he wasn't sure he wanted to accept. 

The olive tree had fallen, and in its place a cherry tree sapling took root, already trying to bear fruit and nurture itself. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been sick for awhile, so I sadly didn't work on this as well as I had planned. When I posted the first chapter, I was just beginning to come down with something and through the entire month I was sick and even now, I still have some of a virus in me - it's almost gone and i feel 90% better but jeez - it really messed me up on my writing :(
> 
> So yeah, I'm sorry this is shorter than I'd like, but I hope someone enjoys!

It wasn't Hinata's intention to ignore Kageyama after his confession, but it just happened. The love confession made the sapling inside of him quiver and it sent an uneasy, uncomfortable feeling through his entire being. He wasn't sure of how he felt but the more as he examined his feelings and compared them to Kageyama's they weren't too different and his affections weren't necessarily unwanted.

It was just embarrassing.

"Hinata senpaaai! Let me toss to you!"

Hinata glanced at one of the newest Karasuno team members. The first year student was tall, not as tall as Tsukishima is now, but probably about the height he had been last year. It unnerved him to see such a tall kouhai, but the sparkle in those amber eyes made him relent.

"Ossu. Show me what you got Takaba."

The first year hooted. As a first year setter, he didn't get to serve in official games, especially when they had Kageyama as their main setter, so Hinata was glad to help out his kouhai - regardless of Kageyama's glare.

Hinata nervously spiked the toss he had received from Takaba, listening to his kouhai once again croon on how awesome it was. Takaba joined the other first years for a moment to gush. Out of all the first years, Takaba was the only setter. Two middle blockers, one wing spiker, and one liberio. Hinata felt the group was a good one but Takaba was the only one who held a deep passion already.

"Hinata."

Hinata stiffened, glancing quickly at Kageyama.

"Let's show these first years how it's done."

And just like that, thoughts of ignoring Kageyama left his mind, focusing on hitting the tosses he received from his setter. It wasn't until the whistle blew and practice was over that Hinata felt the sapling twitch. He hustled towards the locker room, making quick on changing back into his street clothes all while ignoring the rather insistent stares of Kageyama.

As he rushed to the bike rack he felt Kageyamas presence follow him and then stand behind him as he unlocked his bike. He turned around, as he had to, and faced him. Kageyama had this look on his face that he couldn't quite place. Until he spoke, voice lanced with hurt.

"Hinata - if my confession bothers you, you can ignore it. I," deep breath. "I never expected you to reciprocate."

Then why even confess at all, stupid?

Hinata must have said that out loud because Kageyamas ears burned and his eyes narrowed. "Because it was driving me insane not saying anything! I'd rather say it, have you reject me, and move on. So stop being a dumbass and reject me already!!"

Hinata scowled his own eyes now narrowing. "Who says I'm going to reject you? Maybe I wont!"

"Wha?"

Hinata's cheeks burned at what he just said. He glanced to the side, his fists clenching over his handle bars. "Maybe... I don't mind all that much." 

When Hinata looked back at Kageyama, it wasn't very surprising to see the idiot gaping at him, his eyes round and disbelieving. Hinata looked away again, fidgeting under Kageyama's gaze. He puckered his lips, feeling even more embarrassed now. He cleared his throat and closed his eyes.

“I-I'm not saying I like you too, maybe, but I don't think I don't like you either.”

Kageyama's brows knitted together. “That doesn't make any sense. It's basically a rejection!”

“What I'm trying to say is – give me time, okay?”

They glowered at each other but Kageyama broke it quickly by looking away. He sighed heavily. “It can't be helped. Okay, fine. I'll give you sometime to think about it.”

Hinata nodded, pushing his back alongside Kageyama until they were out of the school gates. They took pause there, glancing up at one and other before Hinata finally hopped onto his bike, feet planted firmly on each side of it's frame. Hinata couldn't ignore the pounding of his heart as Kageyama continued to stare him down. Hinata cocked his head for a second before finally speaking.

“See you tomorrow?”

“Aah.”

He pedaled away, still feeling Kageyama's gaze even after he was no where in sight. The heavy weight of Kageyama's gaze was truly imprinting. It shook his core, making his sapling sprout even more, it's branches growing steadily. Hinata ignored the strange feeling inside of him as he made it home, listening to his mother prod him about universities – as a second year, he should be thinking more about it! But Hinata's mind was too muddled with volleyball and Kageyama.

\- - -

“Did you do something to piss Kageyama off?”

Hinata glanced behind him at Watanashi, whose face was resting in the palm of his right hand, his eyes looking towards Kageyama's seat. Hinata blinked and looked over at Kageyama who, indeed, was staring at him. Hinata felt his gut clench and his cheeks start to warm at Kageyama's glare. He turned back to Watanashi. “No?”

Watanashi's nose wrinkled. “Whoa, your face is really red. That kind of look is disgusting.”

Disgusting.

That's right... if Hinata accepted and reciprocated Kageyama's feelings, that would make them gay. Or at least in the eyes of their classmates. Hinata didn't feel like he was anything, he just liked whoever he wanted to like, but it wouldn't be so simple with his classmates, no, they'd immediately see it as 'homo' and would become targets for bullying. Though, with Kageyama involved, would they really be bullied? Most of the class appeared to be intimidated by Kageyama, so at the very least, Kageyama would probably just go ignored by the class. But what about him? That thought mulled inside of his mind, even as class went on.

As soon as it was lunchtime, Hinata wanted to get away, ignoring the hard stare Kageyama sent him and the curious look Watanashi sent him as well. Instead, he found himself going to one of the Class 3 rooms, peering inside. He was nervous, especially at seeing the pretty third year girls. He had to remind himself he was a 2nd year himself, so there was no need to be this nervous.

“What's a second year doing here?”

He stiffened as he noticed these rather unfriendly guys glancing at him. He turned towards them, bowing slightly. “Is Tanaka-senpai or Nishinoya-senpai around?”

“Hinata?”

He blinked and looked over to see not Tanaka or Nishinoya, but Ennoshita. He perked up as he walked over all while grinding his fist against his eye, rubbing away the sleepiness.

“What are you doing?”

“Um, I just wanted to talk to someone about something.”

Ennoshita's brows furrowed. “Are you okay? It's not going to interfere with your game, is it?”

Hinata suddenly felt bad about talking about this to their captain. But Ennoshita seemed willing to hear him out. He shook his head and motioned him to follow him. Ennoshita did slowly, still looking rather tired but was definitely more awake by the time they stopped at a little nook next to a stairwell. Hinata fumbled as he explained to Ennoshita was exactly was going on with him and Kageyama. As he finished, he glanced up at Ennoshita to gauge his reaction – only to see a rather amused look on his face.

“Is that all?”

“Uh? You aren't surprised?”

“Not really, I mean... it IS surprising, don't get me wrong on that, but... you two have always been close.”

“No, we haven't! I mean, we are during practice and games, but...”

Ennoshita laughed. “I'm more amused that you wanted to talk to Tanaka and Nishinoya about this. You do realize they probably would have laughed at you first before giving you advice?”

Hinata made a soft 'geh' noise while Ennoshita carded his fingers through his hair. “Look, you are obviously worrying over this more than normal, so my question for you is how do you feel about Kageyama?”

The cherry tree inside of him was no longer a sapling, he could acknowledge that, but could he truly speak it? He shook as the leaves inside of him shook too, a delicate tree that still needed nuturing and time.

“I... It's not that I don't like him, but he's Kageyama... and I...”

“You care about him, that's all that matters. The rest of the feelings will follow if they are meant to be. Don't push it too hard.”

Hinata nodded, more to himself than Ennoshita, but when he felt Ennoshita pat his head quickly, he couldn't help but grin. Ennoshita was always trying his best to help his team now – he had rather important shoes to fill now that Daichi and Suga were gone and Hinata couldn't help but note that he was doing a pretty good job.

“Thanks Ennoshita-senpai!”

Ennoshita nodded. “Just don't let this mess up practice.”

“Ossu!”

Hinata sprinted away, running towards his and Kageyama's usual lunch spot. He made it there noticing Kageyama sitting there, leaning against the building. Hinata crept over and giggled to himself as he noticed Kageyama was sleeping! He squatted down, eying Kageyama's face. His brows were softer, but still in a scowl, his mouth slightly agape as he slept. Hinata felt the urge to doodle on his face. He wished he had a pin on him so he could. Instead, he took his fingertip and gently traced a curled mustache on his upper lip.

When he pulled back his hand, Kageyama's eyes were open and glued onto him.

“Y-You're awake!”

“Yeah, you really think I'd sleep out here?”

Hinata scowled. “You were sleeping! I could hear you snoring!”

“I don't snore!”

Hinata gave him a grin that said 'how would you know?', but Kageyama ignored it in favor of rubbing at his upper lip. “What did you do to me?”

“Nothing! I just...”

Well, he had wanted to draw on Kageyama, but without a pen, he found himself just touching the other. The fact he had brazenly rubbed Kageyama's upper lip made his used finger suddenly tingle and his face heat up. Kageyama's brows raised at the look. Kageyama reached out and rubbed his own fingers across Hinata's lips, startling the other. The warmth on Hinata's cheeks burst into flames as he felt the cherry tree's buds begin to blossom. Kageyama wasn't even able to say a word as Hinata was suddenly running away once more.

It was back to square one.

Hinata ignored Kageyama, even during practice – preferring to allow Takaba to toss to him, who was more than happy to toss to his senpai. But the looks Kageyama kept sending to him made him mess up more than usual. It wasn't until the ball hit him square in the face that something broke.

“Takaba!”

The first year wilted at the sound of his senpai, turning mechanically over to glance at an angry looking Kageyama. Hinata rubbed at his nose and, finally, looked at Kageyama as well – noticing the dangerous look in his eyes. His upper lip curled as he spoke.

“Your form sucks, stop tossing those lousy tosses to our decoy.”

Hinata frowned at Kageyama. First off, Takaba was only a first year and that was the first time in a long time that Hinata was called a decoy. He opened his mouth to say something but instead, surprisingly, the first year did.

“Then why don't you teach me yourself instead of glaring at me?”

The whole gym seemed to go silent as the two tall players glowered at each other, standing at the same height. 

“Hey, hey, hey!!” growled Tanaka, bopping Takaba atop the head. “Don't speak to your senior like that.”

Takaba pouted while Kageyama scoffed, turning away from the first year and stalked over to Ennoshita and Yamaguchi to discuss strategy. Tanaka frowned at Kageyama's back. “Still... his remark was rather harsh, and what the hell? You think he'd be happy to teach his underclassman! He won't be at Karasuno forever.”

Takaba perked up at Tanaka's new leaf. “Right? At least Hinata-senpai is helping me.”

Hinata felt a weird uncomfortable sensation in the pit of his stomach as Takaba threw his arm around Hinata. He felt Kageyama's stare, burning into them, but ignored it. He lifted Takaba's arm and got out from underneathe it.

“But Tanaka-senpai is right, Kageyama should be helping you.”

Takaba sighed. “Yeah, I'd like that too. His tosses were one of the reason I came to Karasuno! You two are so cool and Kageyama-senpai's tosses are amazing!”

Hinata smiled. He agreed with him, but getting Kageyama to agree now would be hard. But he'd do it, for his kouhai! He sucked in a breath, determined to do something about it now. 

After practice let out, Hinata and Kageyama found themselves walking together, Hinata pushing his bike slowly, trying to think of a way to nonchalantly bring up Takaba. The sound of his wheels ticking as he pushed the bike was the only sound until Kageyama sighed.

“Why are you so quiet today?”

“Why won't you help Takaba?”

Kageyama blinked before scowling. “Because from the moment he joined the club, he has only sought out your help. Why, I have no idea.”

“Hey!” squawked Hinata, feeling insulted briefly before focusing back on his mission. “You should at least teach him somethings. He is probably going to be Karasuno's main setter after we graduate next year, you should give him a chance.”

“I know that! We haven't even had any practice games yet, so don't worry about it. I'll teach him, okay?”

“Really?”

“Yeah...” spoke Kageyama, his eyes narrowing. “But only if you kiss me.”

Hinata's eyes widened and his cheeks once again took color. “What! W-Why would you-”

“I like you, so I want a kiss from you.”

Hinata trembled. If a mere kiss got Kageyama to do this for Takaba... he could do it. He closed his eyes and puckered his lips only to be assaulted by a hand slapping against the back of his head.

“Ow!”

“I can't believe you'd kiss me just to get me to help out some brat.”

Hinata's eyes narrowed. “He isn't a brat! And...” He started walking again, eyes refusing to look at Kageyama. “I wouldn't kiss you just because of Takaba.”

He began to walk faster now, his bike wheels clicking harder as he sped away from Kageyama, blossoms in his heart flowing from the loud thumping in his chest. More fell and made a mess of his heart as a hand grabbed his wrist, forcing him to stop and glance up at Kageyama.

“Does that mean...?”

Hinata shook his head, tilting it slightly. “I'm not sure what it means, but...”

The bike fell as Kageyama suddenly pulled Hinata into an embrace, causing both of them to flush in embarrassment. The street was luckily vacant as Kageyama hugged him, pressing his cheek against Hinata's hair. He pulled him out of his embrace softly, looking down at him for a moment's time before he leaned inward.

Hinata's eyes widened as Kageyama's face was coming in closer and closer. The branches rustled with the wind, inside his heart and around him. The feel of Kageyama's lips against his made him squeak but he felt himself pressing back gently, the electric feel of lips against lips was a welcomed sensation. Kageyama's lips were slightly chapped, but they felt so gentle and oh so skittish – especially when they fled his quickly.

“S-Sorry, I couldn't-”

Hinata cut him off with a chaste kiss of his own, pressing them firmly against Kageyama's. They broke apart and Hinata opened his eyes – realizing he had closed them this time.

Hinata's heart thumped loudly as he suddenly scrambled for his bike, pulling it up and hopping on it. He grinned at Kageyama – his grin somewhat forced, full of butterflies and cherry blossoms. “See you tomorrow!”

He heard Kageyama say something from behind him, but he ignored it. The kisses spoke for themselves; his heart full of Kageyama, cherry blossoms, and the buds of first love.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you, as always, for reading.


End file.
